Best New London Restaurants: Opening May 2016
New London restaurants are as plentiful as early summer rain, which is why we're bringing you our pick of the top new places to eat in London this May
Tom Sellers' Restaurant Ours
Have you heard of Tom Sellers? You should have done. He's the tattooed, somewhat impetuous, young chef, whose Bermondsey-based Restaurant Story earned him a Michelin Star faster than you can say 'pass the salt'.
His latest offering will be down in South Ken. And my, it's going to be good. But don't just take our word for it. Take his! Read our interview, her .
find out more about Restaurant Ours
The third restaurant from husband-and-wife team Sam and Samantha Clark will be opening on Hackney Road in May. Fans of their Clerkenwell restaurants will have a good idea of what to expect, but the Clarks are promising 'a few surprises', as well as a breakfast-to-supper menu. They're taking Moro's head chef Marianna Love with them, so there should be the same top-notch Spanish-meets-North African dishes that fans have long enjoyed.
find out more about Morito Hackney
Galvin at Athenaeum
The Galvin brothers, Chris and Jeff, are opening the latest in their restaurant empire in the refurbished surroundings of the Athenaeum in Piccadilly. Details of what the menu's going to be have yet to be confirmed, but judging by previous ventures you wouldn't want to bet against their signature dish of crab lasagne being on the menu in some form. The maitre'd at nearby Galvin at Windows, Fred Sirieix, has become a celebrity through his appearances on Chanel 4 favourite First Dates; let's see if a similar star emerges from the ranks here.
find out more about Galvin at Athenaeum
Magpie
Food writer and supper club pioneer James Ramsden and former rock star Sam Herlihy attracted huge acclaim for their four-course, no choice restaurant Pidgin. This month, they, along with head chef Elizabeth Allen, are opening what they're calling a trolley restaurant in central London, with 30 dishes available and all served from trolleys. It's not as innovative as it sounds - Chinatown restaurants have been serving dim sum this way for years- but it should be top-notch, with dishes including chicken heart popcorn, mussels with miso and beef dripping toast and koji-grilled corn.
Margot
Opening in Covent Garden, this new Italian restaurant brings together some of the industry's most beloved figures, most notably Bar Boulud's maitre'd Paulo de Tarso and his business partner Nicolas Jaouën, ex-La Petite Maison. They're joined by head chef Maurizio Morelli, formerly of Latium, who will be serving dishes including tagliolini with crab meat and purple aubergine and risotto 'alla Milanese' with bone marrow and saffron. Besides, whatever the food's like, there's unlikely to be better service anywhere in London this summer.
Blandford Comptoir
Xavier Rousset, the man behind wine bar group 28:50 and the Michelin-starred Texture, is nothing if not restless, so when he announced he was going to search for a new project, food and wine lovers everywhere waited expectantly. The result of his expedition is this small Marylebone 'comptoir', where the wine will definitely be a big attraction – 40-50 of them by the glass, with some chosen by customers- but the Mediterranean menu should be just as big a draw in its own right.
find out more about Blandford Comptoir
Sardine
Former Dock Kitchen head chef Alex Jackson is heading to Old Street to open his first solo project, although his old boss Stevie Parle will be involved in a mentoring capacity. He'll be serving a range of Sardinian cuisine (hence the name) including roast quail with fennel and anchovy butter, deep-fried brains and sweetbreads and the delicious-sounding 'lamb à la ficelle', which is a whole leg of lamb tied on string, and then slowly cooked over an open fire. For pedants asking 'where are the sardines', they're on the menu too - stuffed and grilled.
For an amuse bouche...
There are plenty of events that we're looking forward to attending over the next few weeks. These include the first in the brilliant Gymkhana restaurant's spirit-led dinners, Edible Cinema presenting the classic Some Like It Hot and Deliciously Ella bringing her own brand of top-notch cooking to the stylish North-West London setting of Paradise by Way of Kensal Green. And of course, there'll be plenty more events all over town, ranging from the elaborate to the simple. Rest assured we'll be the first to bring you the latest details.
Watch this space for more of the best restaurants in London this month.
